POV Rio
After some preparations, I was ready to reactivate the Multiversal Portal. I had no intention of doing any in-depth explorations for now; it was more to study different worlds and whether I could create a transuniversal communication device. And if I find some interesting places along the way, then so be it.
'Okay, we can start with the original coordinates that Stanford calculated.'
Wrmmmmm
The portal hummed as I turned it on. The portal took a few moments to stabilize, but when it did, I sent a drone through the portal. I wanted to test a few things first. I didn't want to get trapped in another world, so I sent a drone through that would then attempt to reactivate the portal once it was closed. If the drone failed, I would know after five minutes, as that was the timetable I gave it.
Five minutes pass, and there is no reaction, which is not that surprising given this is literally the first test. This was similar to space exploration, where you would have to do a lot of testing and had to operate in extremely remote locations, except this was even worse, as I couldn't connect with them at all.
"What are you doing?" Lucy asks.
"BAH! How did you sneak up on me?" I ask with a shocked tone.
Lucy tilts her head.
"Never mind, it was my bad for being so distracted. To answer your question, I'm experimenting with multiversal travel. I just lost a drone on the other end and was considering how to retrieve it," I reply.
I look at the portal and then at Lucy, then back to the portal.
"Would you be willing to help me?" I ask.
Lucy nods firmly.
"Great, let me explain how to operate this," I say, and start explaining how to turn on the portal and keep it open.
"Okay," Lucy says confidently after operating the control panel.
"Great job. And you look lovely today," I compliment.
Lucy smiles at me, and I can't help but imagine her as a happy dog wagging their tail. She was wearing a black crop top dress with a pink undershirt and black and grey striped stockings. She had gotten all the clothes she needed from Selene, though I did worry that Selene's goth aesthetic was rubbing off on Lucy, but who could say, as I recall, this was the outfit Lucy wore in the anime.
[Image Here]
Once I was confident in Lucy's abilities, I moved into the portal and let it take me to wherever the other side led. As I was pulled in, I was amazed by the kaleidoscope of colors. Even as I was being warped and changed, I was stunned by the beauty of it all.
All good things must come to an end, so I was spit out on the other side and quickly regained my bearings. My templates made adjusting really easy, so I was up and ready to go seconds after I landed. I looked at my surroundings and almost froze right away as I spotted a creature of great and terrible power.
"Nyun..." the creature says with a dumb look upon its face.
[Image Here]
'As long as I don't move, she won't be able to see me.'
Nokotan starts to drool in enough quantities to create a rainbow, so I don't hesitate and run away, sending the self-destruct code to my drone while I do so. I reach the portal and feel something grab my leg.
I look back and see, to my horror, Nokotan was holding my leg with a dangerous look.
"Random bullsh*t go!" I scream as I toss random items from my inventory, thankfully distracting her long enough to free me.
I enter the portal, and even the nice sights aren't enough to distract me from the worry that she may follow me. As soon as I arrive in my world, I throw a batarang at the emergency shutoff switch, and the portal closes. Then I looked around with caution to make sure I wasn't followed. Only when I was certain did I breathe a sigh of relief, which lasted for a split second before I was lifted off the ground and towards Lucy, who looked really worried.
"What happened?" Lucy asks while inspecting my body.
"Whao! Watch where you put those things!" I say as one of them gets a little handsy, pun somewhat intended.
Lucy withdraws her vectors but looks somewhat reluctant to do so.
"Ehem, well, I had an encounter with an Eldritch Deer God on the other side of that portal," I say with a dead serious tone.
Lucy doesn't fully understand what I mean by that, but she still nods anyway.
"I'll protect you," Lucy says confidently.
"Aww, thanks, you're such a good friend, but nothing can stop Nokotan," I say firmly.
I get up and walk away, not noticing the proverbial arrow I shot into Lucy's heart.
"Hmm, I'll need to adjust the coordinates to find a different universe," I mumble before getting distracted by a system notification.
[Music Meister: 100%]
[Getting New Template]
[New Template Found ---> Rabbit of Caerbannog]
[Rabbit of Caerbannog: 11%]
'Finally.'
I finished assimilating Helltaker after only two weeks, and I got the Music Meister after that, but I didn't want to use his powers, as I really didn't like mind control, even if it was done in a musical sense, and it was really hard to train when you consider that I couldn't become the Music Meister perfectly until I fully assimilated him. The only power I used was his uncanny ability to rapidly switch between outfits. And I do mean rapidly. I could literally go from a suit of armor to a fancy ball gown in a second or two. In terms of equipment, it was lackluster. I got a staff that could shoot musical energy beams, various musical-themed suits, and his neat sunglasses.
But I suppose I did gain a little bit more from the template. The Music Meister was a genuinely brilliant musician and had a fantastic understanding of sound and how it affects the world around us. If I wanted to and I was willing to live with myself, I could easily place a satellite in orbit and control the entire world as long as I kept singing. But I left that as a last resort that I would use only under the most dangerous of circumstances.
Regardless, I now had a new template, and it was my second animal template. Though unlike Waddles, this template was far more interesting. I got no equipment, but then again, it was a rabbit, so I can't complain. But I would be lying if I didn't say I had no idea what this really brought to the table.
'I mean, I guess I can look like a rabbit when I finish assimilating it. And he wasn't weak by human standards. Hitting him with gunfire would likely be really hard. And... does it increase my fertility? He is a rabbit after all... Meh, best I don't think so hard about it.'
While thinking about what the template could offer me, I decided to test if I could turn into a rabbit and, if so, for how long.
Cue Animorphs Transformation
"Ugh. This feels weird, I don't know if I like this," I complain in a slightly more squeaky voice.
Shudder
I felt a cold shiver down my spine, and I turned to where I felt the source of the fear and saw Lucy looking at me with a look I didn't like.
"Run away! Run away!" I scream and start hopping away.
I don't make it that far before being grabbed by Lucy, but at least I got the last laugh as my form broke down soon after returning me to my normal form. Though that did make Lucy pout.
"No fair," Lucy says with a frown.
"Sigh... Fine," I say reluctantly and turn into Waddles this time.
Lucy smiles and starts poking my chubby pig body.
"Hehehe," Lucy says with an honestly adorable look.
Lucy picks me up, and I am now being carried around. I had to admit it was very odd being so small, but not uncomfortable.
"You must tell no one of this," I warn, but my warning falls flat when spoken out of a cute pig's mouth.
Lucy nods firmly despite my lackluster threat, but I somehow feel she wasn't joking. I am taken to the kitchen where Lucy grabs snacks, and we enter the living room, likely to watch a movie or something. But just as we are seated, a commercial plays that makes me wonder if it was another suspicious cosmic coincidence.
"Hey, you!" the TV yells.
It catches Lucy's attention.
"Sick of constantly dropping your baby?" the TV says.
"Yes," says a second actor.
"Hi! I'm Bobby Renzobbi, and what you need is the Huggy Wuvvy Tummy Bundle," says Bobby.
"I can hold ten babies at once," says the second actor.
"I know what you're thinking. Does it work for Pigs? Ahaha! Yes, it does work for pigs, stupid! FEEL YOUR PIG'S HEARTBEAT NEXT TO YOURS! IT WORKS FOR PIIIIIIIIIIIGS!!!" screams Bobby before the commercial ends.
'What the heck was that?'
Lucy looks at me with nearly glowing eyes.
"Sigh. Fine, you can buy one. But I'm not using it! This is a one-time thing!" I warn while pointing my little pig foot at her.
(Little did Rio know, it was in fact not a one-time thing.)